Veni, vidi, vici!
by tazspaz
Summary: A letter was all it took to crumble the schemes, err plans of thirteen years. Now Harry knows the truth and there will be no holding him back any longer. PreGoF Powerful!Harry Manipulative!Dumbledore AU
1. Escape

**Chapter 1- Escape!**

_Letter:_

31st of July

Lord Harry James Potter, heir of Potter, Merlin, and Le Fay;

In regards to your request to forward all letters and other such important matters to your legal magical guardian Mr. Albus Dumbledore, we here at Gringotts have decided that it was in your best interests to send this directly to you as all of our other methods of contacting you have failed.

As per the requests of the late James and Lily Potter, you have been granted the right to receive your full inheritance three years earlier than is required by law. You are also summoned to appear within the next week to undergo your magical inheritance ceremony as all others of your family have undergone. Failure to appear will void all rights to the above mentioned families until the next generation is of age.

Sincerely,

Ragnok

Gringotts President

As Harry finished reading the letter before him with shaky hands, he felt a rage he had never felt before flow through his veins. Sparks leapt out of his hands incinerating the letter instantly making the ebony haired boy jump back in surprise. The anger vanished instantly as he stared at the ashes that littered the wooden planks of his room. Vaguely he could hear the smoke detectors outside of his room go off, but none of this mattered to the boy in the least.

Only one thing mattered to him at this point, he had to get out from under Dumbledore's watch; he had to get to Gringotts before the headmaster could stop him.

The door to his room slammed open as the beefy purple face of his uncle appeared. "What in blazes are you doing, boy? Are too stupid to turn that damn alarm off? Get out here, boy, I've got some chores for you now."

"But sir, it's after midnig…" A burly fist slammed into his jaw knocking him to the ground as his uncle towered over him with a maniacal gleam in his eye.

"Don't you talk back to me, boy; you will do as I say at once. The neighbors won't have to look at your freakishness in the dark now will they. You will go weed the front and back yards and I want you to paint the siding with that new paint in the garage. It will be done when I have to leave in the morning, your aunt will have a new list of chores after you make breakfast. Now get going!"

After his uncle had left the room, Harry shook his head to clear it of the darkness that crept around the edges of his vision. Now would not be a good time to lose consciousness when his uncle was angry. Now was a good of time as any to head out on his own.

Climbing to his feet, he crept over to the open door and glanced down the hall to see the bedroom door shut behind his uncle's wide backside. Giving a couple of minutes to go through his small stack of clothes in the cardboard box he used as a dresser, he piled the few clothes that actually fit him on his bed. Making his way over to the loose plank where he kept all of his personal items, he fished everything out before reaching in one more time for a small blue baby blanket. The same blue baby blanket he had been wrapped in when his relatives found him all of those years ago.

Spreading the small handmade blanket out, he heaped his small hoard of possessions in the center and tied the edges together creating the classic hobo bundle. He wryly thought about finding a stick to finish the ensemble for a moment as he made his way down the stairs and towards his old room under the stairs. Picking the lock was relatively easy as his uncle was always quite cheap when it came to anything for his nephew. He sighed in relief at the sight of his old school trunk, everything looked like it was supposed to. Yanking the lid open on his small trunk, Harry tossed the blue bundle inside and began the tedious chore of lugging it out the back door as silently as possible.

As soon as he was clear of the house, he called for Hedwig to join him. Right after Harry had gotten back from the train station his uncle had forbidden him to let the large white owl anywhere near the house.

Seeing the snowy white owl swoop down from the treetops to his shoulder, Harry allowed the first small smile of the summer to appear. He knew that Hedwig would be angry with him, but he also knew that she would understand. After all, she had witnessed the abuse his relatives dealt him over the years. Now if only his plan would work, he knew he could trust Sirius, he just hoped that the escaped convict would reach him in time.

Pulling out an old ad from his back pocket, Harry hurriedly scribbled a short note on the only blank side and rolled it up. Holding out the note towards his faithful friend he watched as she grasped it in her talons before fixing him with a serious stare with her beady amber eyes.

"Hedwig, I need you to give this to Sirius and stay with him at all times. Make sure that he stays away from Dumbledore, if he does contact him come straight back to me. Otherwise I will send another owl within a couple of days. Hopefully everything will work out soon. Be careful, we are playing a dangerous game now."

Hedwig nipped Harry affectionately on the ear before taking off with a solemn hoot into the starry night sky. Watching his very first real friend fly away, Harry let the gravity of what he was about to do finally hit him. Half an hour earlier his life had been so much simpler, now he was going up against the legendary Albus Dumbledore fresh out of his third year of Hogwarts.

Squaring his shoulders, Harry began to make his way around to the front of the house and towards the street. He had to get a ways away from Little Surrey before he would call for the knight bus, Stan Shunpike may be a little ditzy, but he wasn't going to take a chance of his cover being blown so close to where he had been picked up last year, not now that he had so much on the line.

After an hour of lugging his heavy trunk down the streets, he felt that he was far enough to enact his next step. Pulling his trunk behind a group of bushes, he opened it and rummaged around for a bit before pulling out a small bag of money. He was glad that he had the foresight to exchange a bit of his wizarding money for British pounds last year, even if he had no idea of what that money would go towards.

Pocketing a few pounds in his pants pocket, he pushed the trunk as far into the bushes as he could before setting out for the nearest open store. A couple of blocks further up the street he found a twenty-four hour convenience store and bought a black baseball cap, a grey hoody, and a pair of dark sunglasses. As he was heading towards the front to pay he spotted a rack of beauty supplies with some light brown hair dye and some extra strength hair gel. Smirking, he grabbed the bottles and a black bandana for his scar before paying the suspicious clerk at the counter.

"What are you doing out this late, boy? You know that there is a curfew for anyone under seventeen right?" The elderly man sneered as he looked down his long pointed nose at Harry.

Thinking fast, Harry answered with only a second's hesitation. "Sorry sir, I was not aware of the curfew, I'm not from around here really. I'm staying with my cousin for a few days and couldn't sleep, you would not believe how loudly he snores." Harry finished his charade with a look of utter hope on his face. "You wouldn't happen to have anything that would drown out his snores would you?" Inside Harry was snickering; the man was actually falling for it and had completely forgotten about the curfew in the process.

"Yes, I believe that I can help you with that, we have some earplugs on the isle where you grabbed the hair dye."

Harry grabbed the small box of plugs and quickly paid for everything before heading back towards his trunk. Donning the hoody and covering his scar with the bandana, he raised his wand in the air as he pulled the cap over his messy black hair.

With a bang, the night bus pulled up to the curb sending Harry careening back in a painful heap as memories of his last solo trip on the bus flooded back in vivid detail.

"You al'rite there, chap? Ernie be a bit of a wild driver at nigh'." The all too familiar voice of the night bus conductor drifted down to him.

Moaning, Harry pulled himself back to his feet and lugged his trunk onto the bus before replying. "Sorry, you caught me off guard there; I'm heading to my friend's home for the week, could you take me to the Leaky cauldron?"

"Shur' can, that will be a galleon, two if you want a mug of butterbeer or tea and a bed. Can I get your name please?"

(AN- I'm having the hardest time writing with an accent that Stan would speak with, please bear with me. If you think this is bad, just wait until I get to Hagrid!)

Handing over a galleon, Harry decided not to use any of his school mates' names this time around, instead he decided on the name of a boy he was friends with in elementary school before Dudley scared him away. "Names Scott Masterson, can I get yours?"

Stan grinned as he shook Harry's hand. "Stan Shunpike at your service, reason I be asking is the famous Harry Potter used our service just last year wile' he was in disguise. Don't want to pass up a chance like that to meet the famous boy-who-lived do ya."

"Uh, guess not." Sitting down on a rickety bench near the front, Harry grabbed the railing and held on for dear life as the bus jumped to life and jumped the curb back onto the main road two blocks away.

Half an hour later, a slightly green and bruised Harry dragged his trunk up to the well-known pub as he waved distractedly to an already moving night bus. Making sure that his face was hidden by his hood and cap he pushed the creaking door open and made his way to Tom, the bartender.

"Hello Tom, may I speak with you in private?" Even though there weren't a whole lot of customers, Harry didn't want his voice to be recognized or any undo attention directed towards him.

The old bartender nodded and led Harry into a private dining room off to the side. "Now what can I do for you young man?"

Cautiously, Harry lowered his hood and removed his cap and bandana. "I trust that you will keep my stay confidential, I have need of a room and some dinner for the night. Will you help me?"

"Blimey, of course I'll help you, shouldn't have to even ask. I take all of my customer's privacy very seriously; otherwise I wouldn't be in business now would I?" Tom smiled down at the nervous boy as he pulled a key out of his pocket. "Go on up, its number C7 at the top of the stairs, I'll send Linda up with some dinner in a few minutes."

Harry smiled gratefully before pocketing the worn key and replacing his disguise. Before he could leave, Tom pulled his wand out and muttered a quick incantation at his trunk.

"Hope you don't mind, I saw you having problems pulling this thing around so I put a feather light spell on it. I know that you can't do magic outside of school yet so this should help out a bit."

"Thank you." Harry smiled as he pulled the now considerably lighter trunk up the stairs behind him to his room.

Half an hour later, a barmaid dropped off a tray of beef stew and some pumpkin juice for the tired Gryffindor.

"Here ya go lad, just leave the tray outside da door and I will get it lata." The young woman twirled on her heels and left without a second glance.

Filled up on the hearty meal, Harry lay down on the soft bed and was asleep before he knew it.

The next thing he knew sunlight was streaming through the window and birds were chirping happily on the ledge outside. He could hear the noisy bustle of Diagon Alley just outside his window as the street venders pushed their goods on any passer bys and the constant chatter of the shoppers.

With his eyes still squinted shut to keep the bright light out, Harry fumbled on the bedside table for his glasses before slipping them on. The room instantly came into focus as he swung his feet onto the floor. Dressing quickly, he glanced in the mirror and had to do a double take. He had forgotten that he had dyed his hair while waiting for his dinner last night. No longer did he have the trademark black hair, now he had light brown hair with gold and red highlights. He certainly looked different; he just hoped that it was enough to fool everyone for the mean time.

Dressing quickly, Harry pulled the same gray hoody over his head and replaced the black bandana over his annoying trademark. Glancing back in the mirror at his reflection, he was pleased to see a strange short boy staring back at him. Silently, he slipped out the door after placing his dark sunglasses over his bottle cap glasses and headed towards the great white building that housed the wizarding world's bank.

Once he had arrived, he headed for the nearest goblin teller and explained that he needed to set up an appointment with Ragnok in regards to the letter he had received the day before. After the goblin had checked his story and magical signature, he led the slightly apprehensive boy to a richly furnished office near the back of the building. The office was decorated with tapestries and rugs from eras gone by. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling with reliefs of battles, some gorier than others.

Behind a massive oak desk sat an ancient goblin, his harsh goblin features were scattered with scars from battles long past; as evidenced by the suits of armor that shone brightly on the walls. Looking up from a sheet of parchment in his desk, he motioned for Harry to sit in the blue velvet lined chair before him.

Once Harry was seated and offered a beverage, he began the meeting.

"Lord Potter, I trust that you have received the letter that we sent you?" At Harry's nod he continued curtly. "We were beginning to wonder if you would show up, an inheritance ceremony with this sort of ancestry is not something a wizard would want to forget."

"With all due respect, Mr. Ragnok, this is the first letter I have ever received from your bank. I was not raised in the wizarding world so I am not aware of most things that a majority of wizards take for granted. But according to the letter that I received yesterday, all statements and notices have never even been sent to me, but to Albus Dumbledore on my authorization. Could you tell me how that came about? I have never sent any such authorization before to my knowledge, is there a chance it could have been forged?"

After hearing the situation and the chance that a forgery was possible, the wizened goblin instantly sat up in his chair with a dark fire in his eye that slightly unnerved the young wizard. "We here at Gringotts value our clients beyond any other bank in the world. Due to the stature of your family's investments and loyal dedication in our bank, I will have one of my most trusted accountants look into this immediately." With a sharp rap on the desk, a young goblin seemed to jump out of nowhere to assist. "Irontooth, have one of my elite look into the Potter, Merlin, and Le Fey accounts immediately. Have them look for any kind of disturbance or forgery within the last thirteen years other than the normal withdrawals by Mr. Potter here."

The young goblin hurried out of the office as Ragnok turned back to a wide eyed Harry. "We goblins do not take our business lightly, Mr. Potter. What you are implying is quite dangerous to Mr. Dumbledore. Now, back to the nature of your visit, if you will follow me we will begin the ceremony shortly.

The elderly goblin lead Harry through a stone alcove behind his desk and down a series of tunnels deep below the surface. As the two walked through the stone corridors, the torches on the walls would burst into flames dozens of feet before them and would fizzle out as soon as they had passed a few feet. The only sign of life were a group of curse breakers trying to open up a side tunnel, but they were quickly swallowed up by the tunnels as Ragnok lead Harry deeper into the never ending abyss before him. After walking for nearly half an hour, the goblin stopped before an iron door set deeply within the granite walls. The door swirled with an unknown magic as the engravings of dragons, goblins, and other such creatures interacted on the smooth metal.

"This is the Ritual room of the Potter family. You come from a very old line of wizards and witches, which I dare to say, may even predate the Merlin and Le Fey families. Inside this room you will face your past, present, and possible future. If your family's magic should find you unfit, you will not be walking out this door again." Ragnok grimaced in what could be an encouraging smile at the horrified boy before him. "Due to your family's long lineage, you may have additional families we are not aware of. The last time a member of your family actually underwent the complete inheritance ceremony was several hundred years ago, he did not walk back out again. When you have completed the ceremony, a goblin will be waiting for you outside of this door. Good luck Mr. Potter, I will see you in a couple of hours to go over the results."

With a flick of the goblin's fingers the iron door swung open filling the surrounding tunnels with a loud unearthly creaking.

"Hmm, I had meant to get that oiled fifty years ago." Ragnok muttered as he walked back through the tunnels.

Harry gulped as he stared into the blackness beyond the door before him. "Well, no turning back now. Mom… Dad… Please watch over me."

With a deep breath, Harry steeled himself before stepping through the void before him as the torches behind him fizzled out as if he had never been there.


	2. Enlightenment on a Large Scale

**Chapter 2-Enlightenment on a Large Scale**

As soon as Harry stepped through the door, the floor underneath him vanished sending him tumbling head over heels. After calming down from the gut wrenching yell he had made, Harry realized that he was not falling, but rather floating in the blackness around him. The feeling that surrounded him was of hopelessness and sorrow, so much so that it was almost too much to bear. After what seemed to be an eternity of floating on waves of despair, a feeling of peace began to replace it. From all around him color began to weave a path through the darkness, swirling as if it were a watercolor painting. Soon his entire view was swimming with the shimmering colors as the inky blackness disappeared completely.

As Harry began to focus more on his surroundings, he felt the presence of three different beings, each with a great power linked to them. As he realized their presence, a triad of three towering figures appeared around him. Each was dressed in a long white flowing robe with a deep hood obscuring their faces.

A deep rumbling voice rose from all around Harry as he finally stopped tumbling. "You have passed the first test, you are no stranger to despair yet you persevere. Quite admirable for someone of your age. What is your name young one?"

Whipping his head around trying to pinpoint the source, Harry finally stuttered. "Uh…um… Ha…Harry Potter, sir."

"You are the last are you not?"

"L…Last, sir?"

"Yes, the last heir of Potter, Merlin, and Le Fey. Without the others surviving, all of our combined powers will be bestowed upon you. This has never happened before; you seem to have an ability of being unique in this way. Already, you are quite powerful in your own right, standing up to a demon of substantial power at such a young age, quite impressive. You have lost those close to you, yet you still find the strength to continue through all of life's challenges."

"I always had help, sir. I never would have made it this far if it wasn't for the help of my friends and…teachers." Harry paused before adding the last part, he was reminded of how much Dumbledore had kept from him, how much the old man had manipulated him.

A new voice spoke up, this time it was the voice of a woman. "Your Headmaster seems to think that everything that he is doing is for the greater good. He has neglected the needs of the people under him; it seems he has been in power for far too long. You have the bloodlines of two of the founders within you; rightfully the school belongs to you, not him."

Harry's head was spinning as he barely uttered, "Two founders? I am the descendant of two of the Hogwart's founders?"

The woman's voice was laced with amusement as she let out a deep laugh. "Yes, Harry, you are the descendant of Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw. Ironic how my lineage and Merlin's always seems to intermingle throughout the centuries. Did you not wonder what your Headmaster meant by only a true Gryffindor being able to use his sword?"

Harry snorted in annoyance. "Well it makes sense now, Miss."

The first voice spoke up once more. "You have a kind heart, even through your trials you have stayed true to your heart. Don't let corruption or revenge blind you of who you truly are. We have seen your heart and soul, your intentions and motives, you have been deemed worthy of our powers. As my gift to you, I give you the companionship of our familiars, they will be in your family vault when you leave this chamber."

The woman spoke as one of the figures had begun to lift his arms above Harry's head. "As my gift to you, I will give you the knowledge I had gained when I was still alive. I was known as a dark sorceress, but I was neither dark nor light but somewhere in between. I have seen what your future holds; this knowledge will help to tip the balance of good and evil. Hopefully, you will be able to accomplish what many before you where never able too, myself included. I know the same prejudice reigns in your time as well, light and dark, good and evil. There is always a middle ground, sometimes it can be the hardest to find though."

A third voice rose at this point. "As the last of my descendants, I will give you a gift of the elements of fire, water, air, lightning, and earth. You will find five daggers in your vault as well with these same elements imbedded in them. Give these to the ones who gain your trust and friendship it will protect them when the time comes."

With that said, the other two figures joined the first by raising their robed arms above Harry. Out of each of their palms shot a multicolored stream of light which connected in a sphere of energy above Harry's head. As they poured more magic and power into their spell, the energy expanded into a giant mass of swirling colors and light that threatened to break loose from its cylindrical cage at any moment.

Suddenly the bottom of the sphere broke open sending the magic collected within straight into Harry's body. He could feel the magic penetrate his very soul as the tendrils worked its way throughout his body. His toes and fingers began to tingle as a feeling of immense pressure began to travel up his arms and legs until he felt his whole body was going to be crushed from the inside out.

He tried to scream, but no sound could escape from his crushing lungs. The pressure being built around him was immense, cocooning him within its mighty grasp. In his mind's eye, all he could see were the nameless faces of those that Voldemort had and would kill. The Dursleys, his classmates, his Teachers, Ron, and Hermione flashed through his mind in an instant. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware that this was only a test. The pain and the images, it was all a test to analyze his very soul.

He felt the pressure pool into his eyes, his heart, his lungs, and his very bones and tendons. No cruciatus curse could possibly come close to what he was feeling now; his very blood was boiling within his veins as the pressure reached its peak.

When Harry felt he could handle no more, the magic seized his ankles and wrists and expanded outwards relieving the pressure from his body only to feel like his arms and legs were going to be torn from his body. Immediately the magic was sucked into his very core as his body began the tedious job of relieving the pain that had racked it so horribly only seconds before.

Harry was left curled in a fetal ball as he floated between the three figures. Concern radiated from the three beings as they watched over the now changed young man before them.

"He is certainly stronger than the last one to undergo all three lines." Gavin Potter softly spoke as he watched Harry twitch under some of the last reverberations of the spell.

Morgana Le Fey snorted in disdain. "He also has a kind heart; he never plans on using the power for his own gain like Kulper Potter did."

Merlin spoke up in a voice that silenced the others immediately. "The road ahead of this young man has only begun, there will be more bumps and ruts before it begins to smooth out. I only hope that we did enough for him." The three watched silently over Harry as he fell into a fitful sleep.

Two hours later, Harry awoke leaning against the door of the ritual room with a throbbing headache and sore bones. After struggling to his feet for a couple of minutes, Harry noticed that his glasses were lying about three feet from him. The lenses sparkled from the light of the torches on the wall as he reached painfully for them. With his fingers bare inches from the metal frames, his mind began to clear a little. He could see perfectly, better than he had in years in fact.

Straightening back up, he noticed the small goblin watching him from the shadows with a look of pure surprise on his face. Harry lifted an eyebrow in question as the goblin tried to gather his wits.

"M…Mr. Potter?"

"Yes?" A deep baritone voice answered when Harry tried to speak. Looking around in surprise, Harry realized that the voice had been his own, no longer did he have the little boy voice he had had only hours before. Looking down he realized that the ground seemed much further away as well. Lifting his hands up to the torch light, he realized that they were no longer stubby and scarred from the years of bashing his uncle had done to him. His fingers were now long and elegant, flawless in the dim light of the corridor.

"What happened to me?" Harry asked in the still strange voice.

The goblin seemed to have gotten over his surprise as he now smirked. "You, Mr. Potter, have undergone the inheritance ceremony. The ceremony fixes all the flaws that your body had accumulated over the years. It seems that yours was full of them. It may be wise to buy some new clothes when you leave, perhaps if Ragnok is in a good mood he will lend you some robes."

Harry stared at the little goblin for a few seconds before he glanced down at the remains of his clothing. His pants were now a good six inches above his ankles and quite uncomfortable in certain areas. His shoes had ripped completely where his foot had grown so now his toes could be seen poking out of his cousin's holie sock. His shirt was now so tight around his chest and shoulders he was having problems breathing. He looked like he had climbed out of a dryer with wool clothes on, not a comfortable notion. He was only glad that he had worn some of Dudley's old clothes, if he had actually worn something that fit him he would be in a world of pain at the moment.

"That might be a good idea, Mr.?" Harry looked at the goblin expectantly for his name.

Surprised, the goblin grimaced in the goblins way of smiling. "My name is Stonepike. Not many wizards would care what a goblins name is, why do you?"

Harry smiled. "Because I know how important a name is. I spent pretty much my entire life answering to 'boy' and 'freak'."

Stonepike seemed to consider this as he asked. "Is that why you changed so much from the ceremony? Did your people treat you like a freak?"

Harry looked at his toes wiggling out of his shoes for a second. "My relatives did, but no longer, I'm living on my own now." Changing the subject, Harry smiled softly. "So what do I do now? Ragnok said to head to his office after the ceremony."

Stonepike didn't seem surprised in the least from the change of subject. "Yes, follow me. There are many dangers in this tunnel so stay close."

On the trip back to the surface, the goblin and the human forged an easy friendship between the two. It turned out that Griphook, the goblin that had taken Harry down to his vault for the very first time was actually Stonepike's cousin. It impressed the goblin tremendously that he remembered the name and who Griphook was.

Upon reaching Ragnok's office, Stonepike said that he would wait for Harry to finish his business inside before taking him down to his family vault.


End file.
